Ideas Lab: Synthetic and Artificial Cells

2016年，美国国家科学基金会(NSF)公布了一套“大创意”，即10个大胆的、长期的研究和流程创意，确定了未来在科学和工程前沿的投资领域。这些大创意代表着独特的机会，通过汇集不同的学科视角来支持融合研究，使我们的国家处于全球科学和工程领导地位的前沿。这项提案回应了这一愿景，并描述了一个关于合成和人造细胞的创意实验室。Ideas实验室是密集的研讨会，专注于寻找重大挑战问题的创新解决方案。这个创意实验室的最终目标是促进旨在设计、制造和验证合成细胞的创新研究项目的产生和执行。设计和制造合成电池的能力对美国的科学和经济事业具有重大影响。从非生物分子和材料合成活细胞可以打开生产功能生物材料和改进生物燃料的大门，大规模化学合成，非硅为基础的计算，新型土壤工程，以及医学和制药进步，仅举几个例子。对合成细胞及其创造过程的研究，也可以为了解地球上生命的起源和进化提供一个窗口，并有可能提供对外星生命的洞察。他们的目标是，将具有不同科学背景的研究人员混合在一起，将产生原创思维和创新方法，将改变我们对细胞过程的理解，强调复制生命特征的系统的构建和功能的分子机制，类生命系统的自组装，软凝聚物质，以及生命的物理和化学，这些都是设计和构建细胞组件、细胞和多细胞系统所需的。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

In 2016, the National Science Foundation (NSF) unveiled a set of 'Big Ideas,' 10 bold, long-term research and process ideas that identify areas for future investment at the frontiers of science and engineering. The Big Ideas represent unique opportunities to position our Nation at the cutting edge of global science and engineering leadership by bringing together diverse disciplinary perspectives to support convergence research. This proposal responds to that vision and describes an Ideas Lab on 'Synthetic and Artificial Cells.' Ideas Labs are intensive workshops focused on finding innovative solutions to grand challenge problems. The ultimate aim of this Ideas Lab is to facilitate the generation and execution of innovative research projects aimed at designing, fabricating, and validating synthetic cells. The ability to design and manufacture synthetic cells has significant implications for the scientific and economic enterprise of the United States. The synthesis of viable cells from non-living molecules and materials can open the door to the production of functional biomaterials and improved biofuels, large scale chemical synthesis, non-silicon-based computing, novel soil engineering, and medical and pharmaceutical advances, to name just a few possibilities. The study of synthetic cells, and of the processes used in their creation, can also provide a window on the origin and evolution of life on Earth and, potentially, provide insight into extraterrestrial life. The aspiration is that mixing researchers who have diverse scientific backgrounds will engender original thinking and innovative approaches that will transform our understanding of cellular processes, the molecular mechanisms that underscore the building and function of systems that reproduce life traits, the self-assembly of life-like systems, soft condensed matter, and the physics and chemistry of life that are needed to design and build cellular components, cells and multicell systems.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.